Traders Buy Large Volume of PepGen Call Options (NASDAQ:PEPG)

PepGen, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEPG) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Traders bought 2,321 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 246% compared to the typical daily volume of 671 call options.

PepGen Stock Up 20.7%

NASDAQ PEPG traded up $0.95 on Wednesday, reaching $5.56. 8,872,633 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,546,449. PepGen has a 12 month low of $1.31 and a 12 month high of $7.80. The company has a market cap of $385.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.25 and a beta of 2.02. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $2.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.98.

PepGen (NASDAQ:PEPG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 10th. The company reported ($0.28) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.27) by ($0.01). As a group, equities research analysts forecast that PepGen will post -1.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PepGen

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of PepGen during the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,664,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PepGen in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,348,000. Commodore Capital LP lifted its stake in PepGen by 31.6% during the first quarter. Commodore Capital LP now owns 4,475,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,921,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075,000 shares during the last quarter. Kalehua Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in PepGen during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,770,000. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in PepGen during the second quarter worth approximately $1,535,000. 58.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wedbush boosted their price target on PepGen from $4.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of PepGen from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of PepGen in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of PepGen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of PepGen from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $2.50 to $6.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, PepGen has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $11.50.

Trending Headlines about PepGen

Investors following PEPG have been watching these headlines:

• Positive Sentiment: Call-option buying was unusually high, with volume about 246% above its typical level, suggesting increased speculative bullish interest.
• Neutral Sentiment: PepGen reported $104.8 million in cash and announced a proposed $125 million public stock offering. The financing could support development, but issuing shares may dilute existing holders. PepGen Launches Proposed Public Offering
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly EPS was a loss of $0.28, slightly worse than the $0.27 loss analysts expected. Put-option buying also rose sharply, indicating some investors may be hedging or betting on downside.

PepGen Company Profile

PepGen Inc. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing genetic medicines for serious neuromuscular diseases. The company’s technology is designed to improve the delivery of oligonucleotide therapeutics into skeletal and cardiac muscle, with the goal of addressing diseases caused by genetic mutations or abnormal RNA processing. PepGen’s platform, known as Enhanced Delivery Oligonucleotides (EDO), combines therapeutic oligonucleotides with proprietary peptides intended to facilitate their distribution into muscle tissue.